It is the nature of the soul to always be active. Without the presence of the soul, the body cannot be active.
Actions lead to activity, and our actions either bind us to this world or liberate us through the law of karma. If we are not engaged in activities of goodness, we may be caught up in maya, a Sanskrit term for illusory energy. When the soul is in contact with material energy, it acquires the material modes of nature. To purify the soul from these modes we need to engage in acts of goodness and become ethically responsive to one another. Karma is essentially based on our actions and reactions, it is a spiritual law that governs the material world.
"The difference between a friend and karma is that your friend will let you off."
The effect of karma is similar to the law of gravity, which is an equalling balance. Without the law of karma there would be no order in the promotion of beings to higher planets and life forms. This is the karmic cycle in action. Our duty is to become the architect of a conquest so complete that we are no longer bound by karma.
The system of karma should be appreciated as a merit to your life if you act in the mode of goodness, or as a system of decree if you act in a mode any less than good. In other words, if our actions are primarily in lovingkindness, good karma will follow. If we act in a processed manner solely for the reward of good karma, we remove the love and kindness from our actions. The concept of time does not determine the repayment of karma. Karma is kind and is served as a lesson or reward throughout our souls journey. Everything happening in our lifetime is the cumulative effect of our activities from our previous lives and current life.
Typically, we perceive our challenges as problems, our failings as fate, and difficulties in our lives as disasters. In actuality, any unfavourable event in our life should be responded to with gratitude towards karma. We should respect that we have been fortunate enough to repay the karma, acknowledging that a correction for past actions has been made.Karma is not to be feared, but respected. In the same way we follow the legal system of the society we live in, karma should be viewed as the law of the material world. We should not confuse having respect for karma as ultimate acceptance for it. Karma forces us to remain in the material sky with a material body that binds us to the conditions of birth, death, old age and distress. When we transcend the modes of material nature, we can graciously break the chains of karma.
Each action either binds us further in the karmic cycle or brings us closer to a better quality of life. Since we cannot exist without performing actions, incurring karma is unavoidable. Actions performed without attachment to the result can be seen as spiritual activities, especially if performed with God in mind and without desire for personal sense gratification. This form of action is for the eternal benefit of the soul. Spiritual activity does not produce karmic reactions. Rather it liberates you from having to accept another material body, enabling you to return to the spiritual realm.
Various planets in the cosmos help address our accumulated karma, with our individual journeys aiding this process. Each person you have known, everyone you will know, every animal and living being you interact with in your life will result in sequential events, reactions and synchronicities. However trivial or great, they play a role in assisting the adjustment of our individual karma.
Without understanding karma, we become entangled in actions and reactions. To live wisely, we must grasp the concept of karma and apply this understanding to our lives. Karma is the fundamental mechanism of our existence. It applies to all of us, regardless of which metaphysical system we may adhere to.
